Down or Fleece ??

[Old Grizzly]

Help me out here. I'm a back pack hunter and want an extra layer of warmth so was thinking of a vest like Sitka's Kelvin or Kuiu Super down, but at $180 its a bit hard to justify that in my pack. Would a fleece vest serve me just as well at $35-$60 in regards to warmth and wind resistance? Keep in mind that it also has to be light in weight and very packable.
Recommendations are welcomed.
thanks Guys

 

[realunlucky]

You can't touch down for it's warmth to weight ratio. Neither cuts wind that well. Plenty of places to get a down vest that doesn't break the bank if you'll be happy with a solid color.
Fleece will be cheaper but bulkier when packed up

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[tipsntails7]

Go synthetic puffy vest, less expensive, will breath better and more durable as well. Something like an Atom LT or Patagonia nano if you want breathable or anything else on sale at rei or something if you want a little more warmth, mountain hardware, marmot etc.

Sitka kelvin lite vest and FL puffy vest are solid as well. You can probably find both on sale this time of year as well. I've used both puffies, not vests but I think both are nice pieces, size up in the Sitka, your regular size will be plenty in the FL, may even need to size down if you want it real snug.

If you don't care about Color you can find down cheaper then all of them, all the websites are blowing out winter gear, but the color and size selection can be pretty hit or miss.

Polartec has something in the pipeline called alpha naked or nude, something like that . It's the alpha insulation without a face fabric, so it will act like a mid weight fleece when just worn, breath crazy well, but throw on a shell (rain or wind) and it turns into a puffy as it lets the fabric trap air. It's pretty neat stuff actually.


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[FLAK]

Fleece with a wind break liner in it is fine.

 

[JDZ]

In my experience down cuts the wind best. No better warmth or packability for the weight. Cons would be cost, noise, and breathability. But find something on clearance and wear it when you aren't moving.


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[5MilesBack]

It depends on how you're going to use it. For sitting, I like down.......it's warm. For moving, I like fleece........it's quiet and it breathes. So I usually have both.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Costco down puffy for less than $20 is a steal. Not sure they'll have them again before this fall, but hard to go wrong if they do.

 

[ColoradoHunterHiker]

What else do you have in your clothing system? That may help with recommendations....

If you already have a good rain jacket, a fleece (cheaper, but less packable) will do fine to keep you warm, while the rain jacket will cut the wind and keep you dry. A down vest will make you warm and be more packable, but more costly. Depending on either a fleece or a down vest to cut wind, I'd lean toward the down vest, but being a vest would be its downfall - cold arms.

Let us know what you have and I'm sure we can point you in the right direction...

 

[warrior80]

What size are you? You can get the Sitka Kelvin Lite vest right now on Sierra Trading Post for $75. I have this vest and the Kuiu Superdown. They're both nice. But for that price it's a steal. You have to use the 25% off deal flyer to get the additional discount.

They only have mediums and larges.

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[Old Bear]

Warrior, I followed up but it seems that the deal flyer has changed to free shipping. Darn that would of been a heck of a deal.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[warrior80]

Warrior, I followed up but it seems that the deal flyer has changed to free shipping. Darn that would of been a heck of a deal.
Thanks for the heads up.

Yes the deal flyers are changing all the time. There's another one now for 20% off $100 or 25% off $125 or more. They pretty much constantly have them going. So you could grab something else for $25 and still get the 25% or just use the 20%. This particular code is NGV0868P. There could be a better one out there but I haven't looked.